D3-1 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Battle of the Humungonauts!
by wsdsrdbw4096
Summary: As the title suggests, this story is a rewrite of the SDMI episode Battle of the Humungonauts! Tenth entry of my reboot of SDMI, and sequel to The Grasp of the Gnome! Please read and review!
1. Prologue and a new restaurant

**Author's note: And now comes my tenth installment of my reboot of SDMI, folks!**

 **Once again, as a rewrite of _Battle of the Humungonauts,_ expect plenty of stuff in the original episode to be edited out. I suppose most of you are aware of the stuff I'm going to edit out based on what I've written so far in the course of the series.**

 **I don't own _Scooby-Doo_. Hanna-Barbera Productions and Warner Bros. does.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Prologue and at a restaurant

 _May 16, 2012_

A couple days after the gang sorted through the mess at the Royal Knights Faire, things has been quiet in Crystal Cove, other than the mayoral race heating up.

The debates were quite ugly as the two leading candidates, mainly incumbent Mayor Fred Jones, Sr. and leading challenger George Avocados, traded insults and questions, and let's just say that it became unbearable for one to listen or watch the whole debate.

Among the people tuning into the local radio station to listen to the first mayoral debate were Shaggy and Scooby. After tuning in for just five minutes, the duo became fed up by how the debate is going and changed radio stations.

"Like, I don't think I can take these insults anymore, Scoob." Shaggy said after he changed radio stations.

"Reah." Scooby agreed. "Rhat a ruthouse."

"That's politics, Scooby." Shaggy said. "But anyways, here's a groovy Canadian radio station that broadcasts interesting stories and music."

By that moment, Shaggy had tuned into a radio station that was in the midst of broadcasting a story about a certain family living in Toronto.

It was a radio program his oldest brother Nigel, who currently resides in Toronto, has introduced to his family.

"An interesting name for a radio show." Shaggy surmised when Nigel told him about the radio show. "Like, The Vinyl Cafe."

"This is the part where Dave hung up the phone, or meant to hung up the phone." The storyteller said just as Shaggy tuned in. "What happened was that instead of hanging up the phone, Dave pressed the callback button, which means instead of hanging up, Dave called Mary Turlington, or more to the point, Dave's phone called the Turlingtons' answering machine."

Shaggy and Scooby shared a look upon hearing that part and arched their eyebrows.

"Waving the phone around like a microphone, Dave went to Morley, who was unloading groceries, and said, 'Mary Turlington has invited us to a dinner pawwwty.'" The storyteller said. "And he dragged the words out derisively as if Mary had invited them over to deworm the dog."

"Oh, like, I don't think this is going to end well for Dave." Shaggy chuckled.

"'She said there are going to be interesting people, which means there will be nametags, and she will choose where we're going to sit, and there's not going to be enough food, there's never enough food and she never opens the wine anybody has brought.'" The storyteller continued, and there were some laughs coming from the background, which Shaggy and Scooby assumed to be from the audience, since that story was recorded at a theatre of sorts with a live audience.

"Dave kept going." The storyteller said. "'I'd rather have my legs waxed than go to another party over at the Turlingtons.' Which is when the phone beeped twice."

"Oh..." Shaggy said as he and Scooby looked at each other. "Imagine that, Scoob."

"Reah." Scooby agreed. "Getting rinvited to re dinner party by romeone rou don't like through re phone message, ronly to accidently record rour thoughts of re rinvitation to their answering machine."

"Like I said, Scoob." Shaggy said. "I don't think it's going to end well for Dave in the story."

"Reah." Scooby said as Shaggy turned off the radio.

Not that they needed to continue listening to the story, as they have heard it before. In fact, Shaggy had downloaded the podcast of the recorded story.

After turning off the radio, Shaggy then grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

The channel was in the midst of broadcasting a movie, right at the scene where three people in black suits were battling security in the White House.

It was clear that the security, supported by the army, in spite of their weaponry and numbers, are no match to the three people in black, who all displayed superhuman feats.

Eventually, the three men broke through the door to the Oval Office, which was filled by several four star general officers and flag officers and several more men in suits.

The trio walked into the Oval Office and for a while, there was some silence. Eventually, the man leading the trio looked towards the man seated behind the desk.

"Are you the one they call 'President'?" The man in black asked.

"I am." The man behind the desk replied.

There was some silence before the man in black looked at the carpet. Eying the Seal of the President of the United States on the carpet, the man in black took note of the eagle in the Seal.

"I see you practice worshipping things that fly." The man said before looking at the man behind the desk and added, "Good."

Shaggy and Scooby looked at each other before turning their attention back to the movie, in time to see the man in black continue.

"Now...rise before Zod." The man said.

All eyes were on the man behind the desk as the generals and admirals turned towards the man that was supposed to be their commander-in-chief.

The man immediately stood up, and the scene shifts back to Zod.

"Now...kneel before Zod." Zod calmly ordered.

There was some silence as the man behind the desk, upon sharing a look with his aides and the generals, walked to the front of the desk.

He then kneeled in front of Zod, only for Zod to huff as he did so.

"You're not the President." Zod said. "No one who leads so many could possibly kneel so quickly."

It was then that a voice said, "I'm the President."

The scene then shifts to a man in a brown suit as he continues, "I'm the man they're protecting, and I will kneel before you if it saves lives."

"It will." Zod said. "Starting with your own."

The President then stepped forward and walked towards where his substitute was kneeling and placed his hand on his shoulder, signalling the substitute to stand up.

The substitute stood up and the President took his place at the spot.

"What I do now...I do it for the sake of the people of the world." The President said to Zod. "However, there's one man on Earth who will never kneel before you."

"Who is this imbecile?" Zod asked as he arched his eyebrows before adding, "Where is he?"

"I wish I knew." The President replied.

After that reply, the President then proceeded to kneel before the trio lead by Zod.

"Like, that General Zod sure is one bold villain, Scoob." Shaggy remarked as they watched the President kneel before Zod and made a remark. "In fact, he reminds me of Siegfried from the 2008 film adaptation of _Get Smart_."

"Reah." Scooby agreed as Zod corrected the President. "Ri rink they're played by re same ractor."

 **(What movie are Shaggy and Scooby watching here?)**

"Anyways, I hate to spoil the relaxation, Scoob, but I'm feeling rather anxious on what's going to happen next with the gang." Shaggy said. "Poor Daph's been grounded, Fred's sure got a lecture from his father and Velma is in no better situation with her parents."

"Reah." Scooby agreed. "Ri rink compared to rem, we've gotten off ris situation lightly."

"Yeah, you can say that, Scoob." Shaggy nodded. "Like, one thing for sure is that it's safe to say that Fred and Velma and Daph must be looking forward to moving out of Crystal Cove once we graduate from Central for university."

"Rindeed, Raggy." Scooby nodded.

* * *

That evening, a new restaurant named "Tiki Tub" was fully opened. With its Polynesian theme, the architecture of the restaurant building and setting of the dining deck gives one the feeling of Hawaii.

The opening featured live music, including a performance by the singer Trini Lee, who performed her signature song "The Words Gets Stuck in my Throat" to the restaurant patrons.

Her singing swept many of the patrons off their feet, and among the patrons were Mayor Fred Jones, Sr, and Sheriff Bronson Stone.

"Word has it that young Fred has been grounded." Stone remarked to the mayor.

"Yeah." The mayor sighed in annoyance. "My dear boy sure is in need for some discipline. Heck, he doesn't realize that it was my policies that enabled businesses like this restaurant to open in Crystal Cove."

"I doubt it if he's really your son, mayor." Stone said. "I mean, if he is really your son, he would've caused less trouble around town with his so-called 'friends' and see the light with the way things are running in town."

"I suppose." The mayor said. "Anyways, at least with you at my side, Crystal Cove is on track on becoming the cultural and performing arts centre of the country."

"Yep." Stone nodded as he raised his drink. "We really should toast to our success."

"Agreed." The mayor nodded as he, too, raised his drink.

The two men clinked their drinks just as Trini Lee finished her performance, leading to a large round of applause from the patrons.

However, as the patrons applauded her performance, a man suddenly spotted something behind the band and gasped.

"Look!" The man exclaimed as he pointed towards the back.

Trini's eyebrows arched in surprise before she and the band turned to the back, in time to see a large, shadowed figure with green, glowing eyes in the shape of a hulk marching towards the stand.

The hulk-like figure almost immediately punched the lanterns above as it stomped past the wooden walls, roaring and growling, leading to the patrons to scream in horror.

The hulk-like figure then proceeded to smash its way through the area, growling and roaring and smashing things up.

Tables were thrown into wooden statues, palm trees were ripped up and thrown to the building with all the patrons fleeing the scene in horror.

Eventually, with the place looked like a tornado has stormed its way through with the restaurant in its path, the hulk-like figure marched off.

The Tiki Tub sign was reduced into pieces, and it was clear that the place will take some time to rebuild.

It was Stone who managed to help overturn the table they've hidden under as a safe cover during the hulk-like figure's rampage.

"You were saying?" Mayor Jones asked as he held an unconscious Trini Lee in his arms.

"We'll talk about that later." Stone said after surveying the scene. "Right now, it seems like Miss Lee here is in need of some serious medical attention."

"Yes indeed." The mayor nodded. "I'll get help and you see if you can stop Miss Lee's bleeding."

"Right." Stone said before the mayor left.

* * *

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	2. At school and a phone call

Chapter 2: At school and the phone call

 _May 17, 2012_

The next morning, Shaggy found himself driving his own Jeep to school.

He does keep the Mystery Machine in his garage and he and Fred takes turns driving it. It's more like that he felt that he should take his Jeep out for a drive once in a while.

The last time he did so was almost two weeks ago for the school dance, when he and the gang took part in a sting to capture a ghost girl that was the disguise of one Alice May.

Speaking of that girl, he really can't help but wonder what was the reason for her to do what she did if she wasn't really the daughter of that corrupt banker, as well as Mr. E's involvement in this.

He shook his head at the thought as he stopped at a stop sign, where the street ends and joins Crystal Cove County Highway 1, the main highway that leads them to downtown Crystal Cove from the northern suburbs.

As he drove down the highway, he saw a billboard advertising for Mayor Fred Jones, Sr.'s reelection and shook his head.

"Can't that mayor see that we're in serious need for public transit, like light rail, for instance?" He wondered to himself a few minutes later as he found himself stuck in a traffic jam.

As he waited for the traffic to clear, he happened to look around and spotted debris at where a restaurant was at.

"Like, the Tiki Tub's gone!" Shaggy thought to himself.

Being at the rightmost lane, Shaggy covertly pulled over, shifted the Jeep into park and took out a camera.

There was crime scene tape around the area, and he knew better than to snoop around.

With his high definition camera, he zoomed into the debris and took some photos, where his eyes widened at the sight of footprints that clearly don't look human at all, in addition to claw marks.

Swallowing at the sight, he placed his camera back and resumed driving as traffic started clearing up.

* * *

Later during lunch period, Shaggy had a chance encounter with Daphne as she returned to her locker as he was about to close his locker door.

Noting her sour mood, Shaggy felt it was best to steer clear of her even though she never blamed him for her troubles with her parents.

Closing the locker door, Shaggy was about to keep going when Daphne unexpected reached her hand out and grabbed his left hand.

"Just where do you think you're going, Norville Rogers?" She asked him as she pulled him close.

"Huh?" Shaggy swallowed when Daphne pulled him closer to her and he came to be face-to-face with her. "Uh...what do you mean...?"

"My morning isn't complete if I don't have a talk with you before lunch, Shaggy." Daphne said as she held his hands.

"Like, I hate to spoil this, Daph, but my understanding is that your parents have grounded you again." Shaggy said. "Aren't you afraid that someone at school tip your parents off and have you sent to the dog house?"

"I no longer care what my parents say." Daphne said as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I'm going to continue to see you, whether they like it or not, and I am willing to move out and live with you after we graduate from Crystal Cove Central."

Shaggy swallowed nervously as he saw the particular look in Daphne's eyes as she made the remark. Her lips formed into a smile as she looked into his eyes.

Seeing the nervous look on Shaggy's face, Daphne continued, "Are you still nervous in what my parents will do when they find out about this, Shag?"

"Can't say I'm not." Shaggy replied. "I...to be honest, I don't want you to pay the consequences because of me and Scoob."

"Really, Shaggy." Daphne sighed before smiling. "I've expected you to be braver than this."

"Like, you know me, Daph." Shaggy said, his eyes trying to avoid Daphne's, and even though he was still nervous about how things will turn out if Daphne's parents find out about this, he found himself succumbing to the temptation to place his hands on her hips.

Not minding Shaggy's nervousness, Daphne allowed herself to wrap her arms around him before making him look at her in the eyes.

An awkward, silent moment went by before the two of them closed their eyes and leaned their faces forward and their lips were getting closer to each other by the second.

In that same moment, Fred and Velma were walking around the corner en route to their lockers with their books and supplies in hand.

"Graduation can't come soon enough, Fred." Velma was speaking.

"I know, eh?" Fred agreed. "Besides, when will Mayor Dad understand that I'm not interested in going into politics like him?"

"And I will like to know when will my parents understand that all this supernatural stuff in Crystal Cove is a fraud?" Velma added.

"Like you just said, Velms." Fred said. "Graduation can't come soon enough."

Velma nodded, but before she could say something, the scene in front of her led her to stop dead in her tracks.

"Oh, well, at least Mayor Dad still tolerates my building and testing traps." Fred said, unaware that Velma had stopped or the scene in front of them. "Which is a good thing for us, right Velms?"

He stopped when Velma didn't reply.

"Uh...Velma?" Fred repeated before turning to Velma. "Did you hear what...?"

"Perhaps we should find another place to talk about this, Freddie." Velma said as she gestured forward. "Look."

Fred followed Velma's arm, in time to see their two friends in the gang having a rather...uh...private moment.

Seeing Shaggy and Daphne kissing, Fred's cheeks almost burned in embarrassment.

"Uh...good idea, Velms." Fred said awkwardly as he backed away from the scene and quickly took his leave, only to return when he found Velma still standing and watching the scene, and without hesitation, he picked her up as if she was a statue and carried her away.

* * *

A little while later, Fred and Velma were seated at their usual table at the cafeteria having lunch when Shaggy and Daphne joined them.

"What's up, guys?" Shaggy asked as he and Daphne took their seats.

"Oh, the usual." Fred replied, his facial expression remaining normal as if he didn't witness something private. "Mayor Dad was at the Tiki Tub opening last night with the sheriff, but the opening turned out as a disaster."

"How come?" Velma asked.

"Because according to him, some giant green thing appeared out of nowhere and smashed his way through the restaurant." Fred said.

"Jeepers!" Daphne remarked. "Was anyone hurt?"

"The singer Trini Lee passed out, but other than that no one was." Fred replied. "However, the restaurant was reduced to rubble as a result."

"Like, that explains the debris of a building I saw on my way to school this morning." Shaggy said.

"Do you think we should check that out?" Velma asked.

"I honestly don't know, gang." Fred shrugged. "Last thing I want is getting another free ride on a police van."

"Yeah, that." Shaggy nodded. "Not to mention that our parents will send us into the dog house if they get wind of this."

"No kidding." Velma agreed. "My Dad gave me an ultimatum that if we were to unmask one more of those 'spooks', then he's gonna send me to boarding school out of state for the final year of high school."

"That's something I'm not going to want happening." Fred said. "However, we can't just sit by and do nothing when some dangerous maniac is on the loose causing damage."

"Agreed." Daphne nodded. "I suppose we'll just have to come up with ways to deal with our parents."

It was then that Velma's cell phone rang, and she immediately picked it up and answered it.

"Hi Mom." She said with an unenthusiastic tone in her voice, and the others all rolled their eyes.

Maybe her mother is calling because one of the school staff members caught her hanging out with the gang, which for her parents is a big no-no.

"Yes, I know." Velma said. "Why are you calling?"

A pause went by before her eyes widened.

"What?" She asked.

Another pause went by before she said, "You're kidding. How bad is it?"

At the remark, Fred, Shaggy and Daphne all shared a look with each other.

Another pause went by before Velma nodded. "My friends and I will be right over, Mom."

She then hung up, apparently before her mother could protest.

"What's going on, Velma?" Daphne asked after Velma hung up.

Turning to her friends, she said, "The Mystery Museum has been attacked."

* * *

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	3. At the museum

Chapter 3: At the museum

A short while later, the gang arrived at the Mystery Museum where Angie Dinkley greeted them, though she was displeased to see the others accompanying Velma.

"Velma, I was going to tell you that you didn't need to bring your friends with you." Angie said with her hands on her hips.

"We're here to help, Mrs. Dinkley." Fred said. "I'm sure you'll be interested to see to it that whoever is responsible for trashing around the museum gets caught."

"Yes, Mom." Velma nodded. "Don't you want us to catch the culprit so you can have the proof you need in order for the insurance to cover the costs of rebuilding the museum?"

Seeing the look of determination on Velma and Fred's faces, Angie sighed.

"Alright, fine." She said.

"Say, where is Mr. Dinkley, Mrs. Dinkley?" Daphne asked as she looked around and noted that Dale was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, he's meeting with a contractor from Gnales Construction." Angie folded her arms. "They're offering to help rebuild the damaged portions of the museum for an affordable price, and they sure are fast, having had arrived at the museum no more than half-an-hour after the museum was attacked."

At the mention of the name "Gnales", something occurred to Shaggy and he reached into his pocket and pulled out his camera.

Turning it on, he scrolled the photos he had taken earlier that morning and zoomed in.

There was a Gnales pickup truck parked beside the site of where the Tiki Tub restaurant was at, and he was able to pick out a couple of construction hats that were behind a tree.

As he was going through the photo, Fred was saying, "So who, or rather, what thing could've caused this much damage in the museum, Mrs. Dinkley?"

At the remark, Velma thought of something and turned to her mother.

"The security cameras!" She said. "I hope they're still working and have captured the moment of the attack, Mom."

"The monitors are in the security room." Angie nodded before motioning the gang to follow her. "Follow me."

* * *

A short while later, the gang were reviewing the surveillance footage, where they watched the red Hulk-like monster smashing his way through the museum.

"Jinkies." Velma remarked after the review.

"And those marks we saw earlier." Fred added. "They all look like claws and the footprints don't look human at all."

"Indeed they don't." Angie nodded. "Though it might be a good thing that monster, whatever he is, attacked the place."

"Why's that, Mrs. Dinkley?" Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"It provides more reason for tourists to visit the museum and see the marks left behind by this monster." Angie deadpanned. "Not to mention that we were going to have this place renovated anyways."

Fred and the girls all shared a look while Shaggy mentally compared the marks and footprints with the ones he managed to photograph earlier.

SHAGGY'S FLASH VISION

With the photos of the damage on the left of an imaginary desk, he scrolled out the damage he spotted in the museum to do a comparison.

Taking a close look at the two scenes, Shaggy noted that the damage sustained at both places looked quite similar.

In fact, the wood all looked like they were smashed broken by some large, strong creature that is consistent with the way the Hulk-like monster looked.

In addition, the claw marks on the debris at the museum and the footprints that were clearly not human were pretty much identical to the ones at the museum.

END FLASH VISION

"Could the monster that attacked your museum be the same one that attacked the Tiki Tub last night, Mrs. Dinkley?" Shaggy asked.

"I suppose you can say that." Angie folded her arms. "Why?"

Swiftly, Shaggy showed his cameras to the others and scrolled through the photos he managed to capture that morning.

"Jinkies, you could be right, Shaggy." Velma said.

"Indeed." Fred nodded. "The claw marks and the footprints at both scenes are identical."

"Which could also mean that this red Hulk-like monster smashed through the Tiki Tub." Daphne added.

"And there's the Gnales Construction pickup truck at where the Tiki Tub once stood." Shaggy said. "Like, it seems to have a tendency to arrive fast at the scene of an attack."

"Hold it, Shag." Fred said as he examined a photo on Shaggy's camera. "There's something laying there in the wreckage of the restaurant."

"What is it, Freddie?" Daphne asked as the gang leaned forward with Fred zooming in at the photo, revealing a green patch of something fur-like.

* * *

A short while later, at the scene of the damaged Tiki Tub, Fred picked up that green patch of fur.

"It looks like fur." Fred said as he closely examine the fur.

"Could that fur be from the monster that attacked the Tiki Tub and the Mystery Museum?" Daphne asked.

"I don't think so." Velma said. "The monster that attacked the Mystery Museum has red fur, but what Fred picked up is green."

"Like, maybe that's grass." Shaggy offered.

"Grass isn't that furry, Shaggy." Velma deadpanned as she turned to him. "Not to mention that the grass would've have some soil beneath if it was picked out of the ground."

Just then, they heard an angry from behind, "Hey!"

Turning to look, they found the sheriff walking towards them.

"Here we go." Fred said under his breath.

"What do you kids think you're doing here?" Stone demanded as he stopped in front of the gang with his hands on his hips. "Don't you kids realize that some giant thing smashed his way through the place last night?"

"Yes, we're aware of that, Sheriff." Velma said. "And just this morning, the Mystery Museum was also attacked by a similarly-large figure responsible for the destruction of the Tiki Tub here last night."

"Both places have the same trail of destruction, along with claw marks and identical-looking footprints that don't look human at all." Daphne added.

"Although the green fur we found here is inconsistent with the fact that a giant red Hulk-like monster was caught on camera smashing through the Mystery Museum." Velma added.

"Darn right it's inconsistent." Stone said. "That's because the mayor and I saw the monster that smashed through this restaurant with our very own eyes! And just as we were toasting to the success of Crystal Cove becoming a cultural and performing arts centre of the country."

"Figures." The gang all deadpanned.

However, before they could say something, a loud roar attracted their attention.

"Please don't tell me that your appetite is cranky again, Mr. Rogers." Stone said to Shaggy.

"Like, it's not my stomach, Sheriff." Shaggy said as he pointed towards a certain direction across the highway. "The noise is coming from over there!"

Looking towards where Shaggy was pointed at, the gang and the sheriff saw several palm trees swaying violently before they were shoved aside abruptly and out came a red giant Hulk-like figure.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed as everyone shook in fright. "It's that monster that attacked the Mystery Museum!"

* * *

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	4. An insurance policy

Chapter 4: An insurance policy

As the giant red figure roared and stormed around, it came upon a building with a sign saying, "MINNER INSURANCE CO."

Growling, the red figure proceeded to smash its way through the building, reducing it into rubble as the gang and the sheriff looked on from behind a nearby bush.

"That's the biggest humungonaut I've ever seen." Stone surmised.

"Human-go-what?" Fred asked as he turned to the sheriff.

"Humungonaut." Stone said. "It's huge, muscular and looks like a human in an astronaut suit, which also means it could be an alien from outer space."

"Or it could be a clone of the Hulk." Shaggy offered. "After all, the Avengers recently came out in movie theaters, which could explain that guy's appearance."

"You've watched too much movies, Mr. Rogers." Stone deadpanned. "It's an alien from outer space, plain and simple."

"Well, alien or no alien, let's get out of here before that Human-go-whatever spots us." Fred suggested.

"It's humungonaut, Mr. Jones." Stone sighed as they quickly sneaked away from the scene.

* * *

After school, the gang met up at Shaggy's Jeep, since he left the Mystery Machine in his garage that morning.

"Just the type of day when Shag decides not to drive the Mystery Machine." Velma said as they met up in the school parking lot.

"Like, with your parents sending you guys to the doghouse, I didn't think I'll need the van if they're barring us from hanging out together." Shaggy said.

"Well, I honestly no longer give a rats rear end on what my parents think of our mystery-solving activities." Velma snorted. "If they don't like what we're doing, tough. I'm sure Crystal Cove has a rich history not involving spooks."

"Anyways, I think we should go back to Mystery Museum, gang." Fred suggested. "I can't help but think we might be overlooking a clue."

"Why's that, Freddie?" Daphne asked.

"Because the building that was destroyed during noontime was an insurance company's head office, and that got me thinking on whether the human-go-monsters are targetting the businesses for insurance reasons." Fred said.

Shaggy and the girls all shared a look with each other.

"You may be onto something, Freddie." Velma said.

"Which is also why we need the Mystery Machine right now, Shag." Fred said as they turned to Shaggy.

"I was going to drive home and pick up Scoob anyways, so I'll be picking up the Mystery Machine along the way, gang." Shaggy said before pulling out his keys and added, "Once I'm back with Scoob and the Mystery Machine, we'll meet up with you guys at the Mystery Museum."

He then prepared to climb onto his Jeep, but not before Daphne reached over and grabbed his hand.

"Not if I come with you, Norville Rogers." Daphne said as she tugged his hand.

Fred and Velma both shared a look with each other as Shaggy smiled.

"Like, sure." He nodded. "Hop on, Daph."

As Shaggy started the Jeep and he and Daphne buckled up, they turned to Fred and Velma.

"We'll meet you guys at the Mystery Museum." Daphne said.

"Okay." Velma nodded. "Just don't take too long, guys."

The duo both nodded back before Shaggy shifted the Jeep into reverse, backed out of the parking spot, and then drove off onto the main road after shifting into drive.

As they watched Shaggy and Daphne drove off, Fred and Velma shared a look.

"Do you think we should tell them what we saw at lunchtime, Freddie?" Velma asked.

"I honestly don't know." Fred shrugged. "Last thing we want is things to get awkward, Velms."

At that very moment, some white bird droppings unexpectedly splatted onto Fred's shirt and ascot.

Looking up towards the source of where the bird droppings came from, the duo spotted a couple of seagulls flying by.

There was a brief awkward silence between Fred and Velma before the latter grabbed the former's hand.

"Come on, Freddie." She said as she tugged Fred's arm. "Let's head to the Mystery Museum and get your shirt and ascot cleaned up while we're at it."

"And I just had this ascot washed yesterday." Fred sighed as he followed Velma's lead.

* * *

A short while later, the gang regrouped at the Mystery Museum with Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne arriving on the Mystery Machine.

Noticing Scooby's smile as he and Shaggy joked together with some chuckles from Daphne, Fred and Velma turned to each other.

"I take it that Scooby took the news well." Velma remarked to Fred quietly.

"What news?" Fred asked as he put on a new orange ascot.

"You know..." Velma gestured her hands suggestively. "Between Shag and Daph."

"Oh yeah, he seemed pretty happy to me." Fred nodded.

They both shrugged before turning back to face Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne.

"Anyways, now that we're back, Fred, can you tell us more about your theory on insurance being the reason behind the attack of the humungonauts?" Daphne asked.

"Oh yes." Fred nodded as Velma produced a folder. "So we dropped by here and asked Mrs. Dinkley about her insurance policy, and guess which company insured the museum?"

Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne frowned as they turned to each other to guess.

"Like, Ice Cream Insurance?" Shaggy asked before he and Scooby burst out laughing with the others soon joining in with a chuckle. The laughter did its work in easing the tension.

"Not even close, you comedians." Velma said as she opened the folder and produced a document. "The answer's obvious with what we witnessed at lunchtime."

The trio leaned in to read the document in question, which was an insurance policy.

"Minner Insurance Co." They all read.

"Exactly." Fred nodded. "Now, what are the chances of a building insured by a company whose head office was attacked getting attacked by the same monster?"

"Sounds like a coincidence if you ask me." Shaggy said.

"Too much of a coincidence." Velma said. "This red humungonaut seemed bent on causing property damage to Minner Insurance Co."

"But what about the green one the sheriff spotted?" Daphne asked. "Could the Tiki Tub be insured by Minner Insurance Co.?"

* * *

Later that evening, the gang returned to the site of the destroyed head office of Minner Insurance Co. with a Gnales Construction pickup truck parked nearby.

"There's a pickup truck from Gnales Construction parked right there, guys." Shaggy pointed out.

"They sure seem awfully fast in getting to the site of a destroyed building." Fred remarked as they saw a couple of men chatting nearby, unaware of their presence.

The place was cordoned off by crime scene tape, though there was a set of stairs leading down to the building's basement that was left unscratched by the attack.

With the two men busy chatting, the gang quickly sneaked past them, crawled under the crime scene tape and made their way to the wreckage of the head office building of Minner Insurance Co.

Making their way down the stairs, the gang turned on their flashlights as they reached the dark basement and looked around.

Splitting up, the gang proceeded to search through the basement, which included opening file cabinets and look through the files left.

In the search, the gang can hear the two men still chatting loudly, completely oblivious to their presence.

After some silence in the basement and thorough searches, the gang regrouped.

"I don't see any Tiki Tub files anywhere, gang." Fred said.

"Neither do I." Daphne added as Velma, Shaggy and Scooby all nodded in agreement. "Perhaps the Tiki Tub wasn't insured by Minner Insurance."

"Or perhaps the file has been removed by someone." Velma said. "Someone like the two men chatting up there."

Looking up the stairs, the gang shared a look with each other before silently making their way back up.

As they reached the surface, they saw that the two men chatting were nowhere to be seen. However, Scooby then saw something.

"Rover rere." He said as he tugged the gang and pointed towards where he was looking at.

Looking towards where Scooby was pointing, the gang saw one of the men climbing onto the Gnales Construction pickup truck parked nearby.

They then spotted the second man crossing the street and made his way to another pickup truck that was parked at where the Tiki Tub was at.

Swiftly, the gang hurried to the Mystery Machine, which was parked in a nearby alley, got on and buckled up before Fred started the engine.

The Mystery Machine started just as the first Gnales Construction pickup truck pulled out from its parking spot and drove off.

Shifting the van into drive, Fred stepped on the gas and proceeded onto the street, waited for the second Gnales pickup truck to drive by before turning right and followed the two pickups from a distance.

* * *

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	5. At the yard and another encounter

Chapter 5: At the yard and another encounter

A short while later, the gang arrived at where the two pickup trucks ended up at.

"We're at the head office of Gnales Construction , gang." Fred announced as they watched the two pickup trucks turning into the company yard.

"Certainly a good place to look for more clues." Velma said. "After all, the company has been benefiting from all the humungonaut attacks lately, so there's a good chance they maybe involved in them."

"Maybe the green humungonaut was someone from their company." Daphne offered. "While the red one is someone else, that someone having a beef against Minner Insurance."

Fred then found a spot to park the Mystery Machine, and then the gang walked over to the entrance to the yard, where they then stopped by the entrance door leading to the yard and peeked in.

By that point, the entrance door was locked by chain and lock.

There wasn't much activity in the yard, other than the two drivers of the two pickups they were following emerging into the main building and closing the side door.

Another minute went by before the lights inside the building went off.

"I suppose they're going home for the night, gang." Fred said. "Now's our chance to go in and check things out."

While the door was locked by chain and lock, the gap between the door and the fence is wide enough for a person to go through.

Fred was the first to enter the yard, where he had to lean down to go under the chains.

Once inside, he then held the chains up to give the rest of the gang enough room to get through the gap.

"Alright, gang." Fred said. "Split up and look around for clues, and make sure you don't make any noise!"

The others all nodded before proceeding to split up, with Shaggy and Scooby going together in one direction.

* * *

 **(Shaggy and Scooby)**

As they looked around, Scooby whispered to Shaggy.

"Hey Raggy." He said.

"Like, what is it, Scoob?" Shaggy whispered back.

"Raren't you rafraid you're going ro get Raphne rinto trouble with rer parents?" Scooby asked.

"I am, Scoob." Shaggy nodded as they looked around. "Though I certainly couldn't help myself when Daphne pulled me over at lunch."

"Not rat I blame rou, Raggy." Scooby nodded as he placed a paw on his shoulder. "Rin fact, it's about rime rou've made your move with Raphne."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right, Scoob." Shaggy whispered.

It was then that they heard a growl.

"Rou rear that, Raggy?" Scooby asked as they both paused.

"Like, I'm sure it's just our stomachs complaining, Scoob." Shaggy said. "It's been a while since we've had dinner."

"Reah, Ri suppose so." Scooby nodded in agreement.

"Let's get moving, Scoob." Shaggy said. "The sooner we get out of here, the better. This place sure looks spooky at night."

"Rou don't say." Scooby agreed as they walked past a parked bulldozer that had a red cloth on its engine lid.

* * *

 **(Fred and the girls)**

Meanwhile, Fred and the girls were looking around in another area of the yard.

"Find anything yet, girls?" Fred asked.

"No luck, Freddie." Velma said. "You?"

"Me neither." Fred said. "Maybe Daphne has luck."

"I'm afraid not, guys." Daphne said as she looked around before they heard a growl. "And...wait, did you guys hear that?"

"It certainly sounded like a growl." Velma whispered as they stopped.

"We should go check." Fred said as he lead the way. "Maybe it's the-"

Before he could finish, a loud "WHACK!" can be heard and the girls' facial expressions both turned to shock and concern.

In front of them, Fred looked foolish as he found himself with a rake in his face.

A split-second later, Fred collapsed onto the ground before the rake fell back down onto the ground.

"I sure hope that was just Shaggy and Scooby's stomachs." Velma remarked as she and Daphne went to Fred's aid.

* * *

 **(Shaggy and Scooby)**

Meanwhile, the sound of the rake falling back onto the ground startled Shaggy and Scooby.

"Zoinks, you heard that, Scoob?" Shaggy asked as Scooby jumped onto his arms.

"Ri think romeone ris nearby watching rus." Scooby said. "Run!"

Quickly, the duo took off running, only to end up falling straight into a ditch!

"Oh, boy!" Shaggy sighed as he and Scooby rubbed their foreheads. "We may be getting close to the bottom of this mystery, but this is ridiculous!"

"Reah." Scooby agreed as he got off Shaggy. "Raybe that was rust Red rand the girls."

"I hope you're right, Scoob." Shaggy nodded. "I-"

Before he could continue, another growl cut him off, and this one was louder and longer.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy and Scooby both jumped in fright, ending up out of the ditch and onto the ground.

"That certainly wasn't my stomach." Shaggy said.

"Rine neither." Scooby added.

* * *

In that same time, Fred was revived as Velma and Daphne leaned down by his side.

"You okay, Freddie?" Daphne asked in concern.

"I've seen worse, Daph." Fred said as he rubbed his forehead. "But thanks."

As Fred got up, they were startled by that loud growl that lead to Shaggy and Scooby jumping out of the ditch in fright.

"There it is again!" Velma said.

"Doesn't sound anything like Shag and Scooby's stomachs!" Daphne said.

It was then that Fred spotted something and his eyes widened.

"That's because it's not!" He exclaimed before pointing towards what he was seeing and added, "Look!"

Daphne and Velma followed his arm, where they saw the Green Humungonaut storming towards the yard.

"Look out, gang!" Fred shouted, and the trio quickly took off running just as the Green Humungonaut smashed through the fence.

At Fred's shouting, Shaggy and Scooby quickly took off running as well.

The Green Humungonaut growled loudly before seeing a roll of wires and picked it up before throwing it, where it then smashed a supply shop broken, right in front of where Shaggy and Scooby were hiding.

"Like, gangway!" Shaggy exclaimed as he and Scooby took off running once more.

Soon, the Green Humungonaut smashed its way to the loads of bricks before eventually finding its way to the construction vehicles.

Hearing all the commotion outside, Roger "Rusty" Gnales, owner of Gnales Construction, turned on the lights on the main floor of the main building and got out.

"What in heaven's name is going on out there?" Gnales asked.

As soon as he finished asking the question, his eyes widened when he saw the green Humungonaut picking up a tank of fuel.

The tank ended up landing on a nearby parked tractor, where the collision lead to an explosion.

"Look out!" Fred exclaimed as he dived and shoved Gnales out of harms way, just before a tire flew through where he was standing at a second earlier.

The tire hit the building and caused significant damage on impact.

"Thank you." Gnales said before seeing Fred and asked, "Say, what are you doing here this time of the night?"

His questioning only stopped when he saw the building looking like it was ready to cave in.

"Long story." Fred said. "Let's get out of here!"

The green Humungonaut then spotted a crane and picked up a nearby bulldozer and threw it.

The bulldozer hit the cables of the crane, which then caused it to collapse, with the top end come falling down onto a nearby parked tractor trailer carrying propane.

"Like, TIMBER!" Shaggy exclaimed as they all saw the crane crashing down onto the propane truck.

At Shaggy's warning, they quickly took off running just as the crane crashed down onto the tank trailer, leading to a massive explosion.

The explosion also caused a nearby tower to collapse, where it then ended up crashing down onto the yard entrance just as the group were running towards it.

Everyone gasped as they found the main exit blocked.

"Jeepers!" Daphne said as they saw the flaming tower in front of them. "We're trapped!"

* * *

 **Uh oh. What will happen next?**

 **Stay tuned, and please read and review!**

 **Also, to all my readers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**


	6. An explosive escape

Chapter 6: An explosive escape

The group of six looked around as they found themselves surrounded by areas engulfed in flames.

With the green Humungonaut smashing around, it didn't take long for them to realize that they have to get out of the place and fast.

"What should we do, Fred?" Velma asked. "We're trapped in!"

It was Gnales who saw the green Humungonaut having his eye on another propane tanker truck.

"Whatever you kids are thinking, it has to be quick!" He said. "This place is gonna blow with us included if we don't get out of here!"

It was then that the group heard something collapsing and they turned towards the source of the noise.

As it turned out, another tower had collapsed and crashed onto the fence, creating an exit for the group, though with the tower in flames, it looks quite dangerous.

"Like, that tower may be our ticket out of here, gang." Shaggy said as he pointed to the collapsed second tower.

"Are you sure it's safe, Shaggy?" Velma asked, noting the flames.

"You got a better idea?" Shaggy asked.

Velma shared a look with the others before shaking her head and added, "Then we'll have to be quick."

"This way, gang!" Fred said as he pointed towards where their potential exit is at.

At the fence, they found that the tower is unreachable and the parts that are reachable are already in flames.

And the catcher is that the flames are slowly spreading towards the fence with a propane tank right under halfway between the tower's base and the fence.

"The fire is spreading to that propane tank!" Mr. Gnales said. "We're losing time!"

"But how do we get onto the tower?" Daphne asked. "It's too high for us to reach."

"Not if you're the swingingest gymnast in school." Shaggy said before jumping and grabbing onto a column of the tower.

He then saw a loose support cable, coming from the base, nearby and grabbed onto it before pulling himself up and balanced himself on the column-truss system on the tower.

With the loose support cable, Shaggy pulled it and then tossed it to where the others are standing at.

"Hurry!" He shouted as he held onto the cable.

Without another word, Velma and Daphne first climbed up the cable Shaggy has offered.

Once they joined him on the column-truss system, Fred and Mr. Gnales followed suit.

Scooby was the last to climb onto the tower through the cable Shaggy has offered as Fred, Velma, Mr. Gnales and Daphne proceeded to walk on the tower towards the fence, keeping their balance as they went.

However, just as Scooby was halfway up the cable, it suddenly snapped.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as he leaned down and managed to grab Scooby by the tail.

Seeing Shaggy struggling to pull Scooby up and the flames slowly reaching the propane tank, the others gasped.

"Raggy, relp!" Scooby said as his weight started pulling Shaggy down.

Seeing Shaggy having trouble keeping his grip on Scooby's tail, mostly due to Scooby's tail coming into contact with some greasy fluids earlier, Daphne quickly rushed over and helped Shaggy grab onto Scooby's tail.

"Daphne!" Velma shouted. "The place is about to-"

"You guys go ahead!" Daphne shouted back. "I'll help Shaggy get Scooby up!"

"Like, hurry!" Shaggy added. "There's not much time!"

Figuring that there's no time to argue, the others nodded before reaching the other side of the fence, jumped down, and then started running across the street.

Grunting, Shaggy and Daphne eventually succeeded in getting Scooby up.

"Rank rou, guys." Scooby said as they sighed in relief and caught their breaths.

It was then that Daphne saw that the flames have spread the propane tank.

"Jeepers!" She exclaimed. "The propane tank is on fire!"

"Let's get out of here, gang!" Shaggy shouted.

Scooby quickly motioned them to get on his back, and once Shaggy grabbed onto Scooby's collar and Daphne holding onto Shaggy, the Great Dane took off.

"Scooby-Dooby-Doo!" Scooby howled as he took off running on the tower and reached the other side of the fence.

It was then that the propane tank blew up, and as Shaggy and Daphne looked on towards the back, Scooby leaped off the tower.

In slow motion, Scooby leaped off the tower just as the tank exploded with debris flying over to where they were at a minute ago and the tower started to collapse.

As soon as Scooby landed on the ground, he continued to run, crossing the street and then regroup with Fred, Velma and Mr. Gnales.

Rejoining the trio, Shaggy and Daphne got off Scooby's back as they watched the explosion unfold and the area engulfed in flames.

* * *

A short while later, the area was swarmed by sheriff's deputies and the fire department, who moved quick to extinguish the flames.

"So the green Humungonaut strikes again." Stone remarked. "You kids and Mr. Gnales should count yourselves lucky that you have made it out of there when you did."

"This is just terrible!" Mr. Gnales said in annoyance as they watched the fire crews put out the fire. "My company's head office has been destroyed! I'm certain that my insurance company won't cover the damages incurred by 'some green giant Hulk-like monster'."

"Say Mr. Gnales, which company insured your head office building?" Fred asked.

"Harper Insurance Inc." Mr. Gnales said. "Why?"

"Oh, I'm just curious, sir." Fred shrugged. "After all, with my father expecting me to follow his footsteps in going into politics, the least I could do is to acquaint myself with the insurance system for buildings."

"I see." Mr. Gnales nodded thoughtfully. "Though I'm certain that didn't require you dragging your pals over to my head office and ask me about it."

"Well, for that, they're actually tagging along with me, Mr. Gnales." Fred quickly said. "We didn't expect that green humun-go-whatever show up when it did."

"Humungonaut, Mr. Jones." Sheriff Stone sighed.

"Either way, it's getting late now, guys." Daphne said. "I'm sure our parents are worried about us, so we should get going."

"Do be careful on your way home." Stone said as they gang turned to leave. "I don't want you kids to cause any trouble around town and end up having to have my deputies to get you out of that mess."

The gang didn't respond as they made their way to the parked Mystery Machine, got on and then drove away.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	7. Two advertisement signs and the fight

Chapter 7: Two advertisement signs and the fight

Soon, the gang were driving down Crystal Cove County Highway 1 on the Mystery Machine.

"We aren't actually driving home, are we, Freddie?" Velma asked.

"Of course not, gang." Fred said. "I was just using the explanations for us to get out of there without getting into trouble with Stone and Mr. Gnales."

"Oh, okay." Shaggy nodded. "Anyways, like, where do we go from here?"

As Shaggy made the remark, they drove past a large advertising sign.

The sign in question featured a couple of muscular men dressed in suits with one of them giving a thumbs up and the other making a strongman's pose, together with the following caption:

"MINNER'S INSURANCE CO.  
All you can trust for home and business protection  
Compensation guaranteed"

"Say, those two men on the Minner's Insurance Co. advertisement sign looks familiar." Daphne remarked when they drove past the sign in question.

"You've seen them before, Daph?" Velma asked. "That is, other than the fact that we drove by the advertisement sign almost on a daily basis."

"Yes." Daphne nodded. "I remember the time the Cervone Circus was in town a couple years ago, where the main attractions were Max and Jax Minner, aka the Strongman Minners, as with their stupendous strength, they can pretty much lift anything 30 times their weight."

"The same way ants can lift items at least 50 times their weight, eh?" Velma asked.

"Pretty much." Daphne nodded. "Anyways, my family and I went to see the circus while it was performing in town and I particularly remember those Minner brothers lifting a tractor trailer with ease."

"Wow." Shaggy whistled. "Sounds like you gotta work out on a daily basis in order to be able to lift such an enormous weight."

"Indeed, Shag." Fred nodded in agreement. "I can probably lift twice my weight but lifting a van is too much."

At the remark, everyone on the Mystery Machine gave Fred a weird look on their faces.

"Either way, sounds like the Minner brothers have left the circus." Shaggy said.

"And that green Humungonaut that attacked the head office of Gnales Construction was able to lift the trucks and other construction equipment with ease." Velma pointed out. "Do you think one of the brothers is involved in the attack?"

"If so, then why attack their own head office and the Mystery Museum that they insured?" Fred asked.

"Perhaps the red one is someone from their competitor." Velma offered.

It was then that they drove by another advertisement sign, only that this one is for Harper Insurance Inc. and came with the following caption:

"HARPER INSURANCE INC.  
A trusted partner in insurance coverage in Crystal Cove since 1987"

Like the Minner Insurance Co. advertisement sign, the Harper Insurance Inc. sign featured a strongman dressed in a suit and doing a strongman's pose.

"And there's the advertisement sign for Harper Insurance." Shaggy said.

"Say, there's something familiar about that strongman in the ad." Daphne said.

"Was he also a circus strongman with the Cervone Circus, Daphne?" Velma asked.

"Yes." Daphne nodded. "He frequently performed comedy acts with the Strongmen Minners in the circus under the stage name 'The Third Man'."

"I thought they mainly perform acts involving their strengths." Fred said.

"Not quite." Daphne said. "The brothers and him are also known for their comedy acts and during my time seeing the circus, they performed a number of gags in their comedy acts."

"Like, sounds interesting." Shaggy remarked.

"Say, you said that they performed circus acts together, Daphne?" Velma asked as she reached for her laptop.

"Yes, I did." Daphne raised an eyebrow when she saw Velma pulling out her laptop. "Why?"

"If they performed acts together, what resulted in them going their separate ways after they left the circus?" Velma asked. "After all, Harper Insurance is a rival of Minner Insurance."

"Good point." Daphne nodded as Velma opened her laptop and started typing.

With Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne leaning over to watch her, Velma typed in "Harper Insurance Strongman".

The first thing she saw was the name Maxime Archambault accommodating a photo of the strongman on the Harper Insurance poster.

Doing some further typing, Velma came upon several articles detailing his career, including acts with the Strongmen Minners.

As it turns out, the Strongmen Minners have been estranged with Archambault for years.

The three strongmen were close during their circus days with the Minners considering Archambault as a "third brother" to them. They continued to work together after the Cervone Circus closed down, forming the Maxime-Minner Insurance Partnership and running the company together.

However, things went bad for the three strongmen after they had a massive fallout over management of the business and Archambault left the company.

Maxime-Minner Partnership was eventually renamed as Minner Insurance Co. as Archambault started working for its chief rival Harper Insurance.

"Jinkies!" Velma remarked after reading the article. "I guess they're not as close as they used to be."

"They're now bitter rivals." Daphne said. "That certainly explains a lot about why the two humungonauts were targetting places insured by the rival."

"Which would speak a lot to the motive behind the attacks." Fred said. "And also a perfect opportunity for us to set the trap."

"Trap?" Shaggy and Scooby both asked. "How's the trap gonna work if we're going to have to deal with at least one giant beast who can lift heavy machinery with ease?"

* * *

A short while later, at the harbour near the beach, Shaggy and Scooby found themselves at a dock with a damaged house boat.

"Wait...so what are Scoob and I supposed to do again, Freddie?" Shaggy asked as he and Scooby turned to Fred and the girls, who were setting up the trap.

"For the tenth time, Shag." Fred sighed as he paused from his trap-setting. "You and Scooby just pose as a new home buyer and his dog and are talking about getting insurance for your new houseboat, which will no doubt attract the attention of our two human-go-thingys."

"Humungonauts, Freddie." Velma said.

"Whatever." Fred raised his arms in defeat in his inability to pronounce the word correctly. "Anyways, once those two beings see each other, no doubt they'll start fighting and then when they do, they'll certainly be too busy to notice their surroundings and then fall into the flooded dry dock, which is where we have the trap ready."

"But before you and Scooby do this, Shag." Daphne said as she arrived with a suit. "You ought to change your clothes to make yourself look more like a homebuyer."

* * *

Soon, Shaggy and Scooby were examining the new houseboat they've "bought" with the former dressed in a tan green suit with a brown bowtie and wearing a beard.

"Home Sweet Home, Scoob old buddy." Shaggy said to Scooby as he gestured to their new houseboat.

"Reah." Scooby nodded. "Rit's got a kitchen, redroom, rathroom, living room rand everything for rus to live re good life."

"Indeed, man." Shaggy nodded. "But we also have to get insurance for the houseboat."

"Rinsurance?" Scooby asked as he arched an eyebrow. "Rhy?"

"You never know what might happen, Scoob." Shaggy said. "Like, what if a hurricane decides to show up and cause heavy damage to the houseboat? With my current salary, I can't afford to have this place fixed up completely."

"Rood point, Raggy." Scooby nodded. "Rafterall, rif an earthquake were ro strike and cause re tsunami, re houseboat rill re rin danger and may get reavily damaged."

"Which is also why I've contacted Minner Insurance Co. and signed a contract with them to have the place covered, Scoob." Shaggy said as he pulled out a document and showed it to Scooby. "The company's really brilliant. It even has a clause stating that it will cover damages caused by 'monster attacks' and 'supernatural or paranormal phenomenon'."

Scooby leaned over to take a closer look at the fine print of the contract.

"Ronster attacks includes attacks rom humungonauts." He said.

As soon as he made the remark, the familiar-sounding growl can be heard and the duo turned towards the source.

Standing a few blocks away from where they were at, the duo can see the red humungonaut growling.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed. "The Red Humungonaut!"

The red humungonaut growled viciously and leaped into the air, intending to smash its way into the houseboat.

Before Shaggy and Scooby could react, a green figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere and as quick as a fox, it slammed into the red humungonaut and knocked it to the pier several blocks away.

"Maybe they should have that green humungonaut as a company mascot, Scoob." Shaggy remarked as they watched the two humungonauts starting to fight.

"Reah." Scooby nodded in agreement. "Ret's get out of re way."

Scooby was right on them needing to get out of the way, because just a split second after running off onto the mainland, the red humungonaut managed to shove the green humungonaut past where they were standing at earlier.

With the two humungonauts absorbed in fighting each other, they were unaware that they were moving their way to the nearby dry dock where the trap was set.

The gang looked on before the red humungonaut suddenly lost its balance and fell backwards into the dry dock.

Just as the green humungonaut looked on triumphantly, the red humungonaut, not finished, grabbed onto the green humungonaut's left leg and pulled him into the water.

As the two humungonauts fought each other underwater, Fred turned to the gang.

"Show time!" He said.

Daphne and Velma both nodded before pulling a nearby lever. Soon, a giant net swooped out of the dry dock with the two humungonauts caught inside like loads of fish caught in a fishing net.

The two humungonauts struggled in vain to break free from the net, only to find that with the net made of carbon fiber with extra-grade steel, their efforts was like chewing on a hockey puck.

"Yes!" Fred pumped his fist in victory as the girls and Shaggy and Scooby high-fived each other.

* * *

 **One more chapter to go, folks!**

 **Please read and review!**


	8. Unmasked and the drive

Chapter 8: Unmasked and the drive

A short while later, the area was filled with several sheriff deputies and Stone himself. Also there were Mayor Fred Jones, Sr., who was obviously displeased by the sight of Fred, Jr. and his friends.

"I should've guessed you kids were going to poke around the docks." Stone said with his hands on his hips. "And I also see that you kids have captured those two humungonauts that have been causing trouble around town the past few days."

"We did, sheriff." Fred nodded. "These two have been smashing their way through town this past few days."

"Except that they're not aliens from outer space as you have claimed, sheriff." Velma said.

"They're not?" Stone asked. "If that's the case, who are they?"

"These human-go-thingys are really..." Fred declared as he and Shaggy pulled the masks off the humongonauts, revealing two unfamiliar but yet familiar faces.

There was some gasps from the deputies and the gang.

"What do you know." Stone said when he recognized the two unmasked humongonauts. "Maxime Archambault and Jax Minner of the Strongmen Minners!"

Just then, there was some pushing and shoving from the crowd.

"Excuse me, out of my way!" The voice accommodating the pushing and shoving shouted, and everyone turned and looked.

It was a man in a suit that looked identical to Jax Minner, only that he doesn't have a scar on his left eye.

"Mr. Max Minner, I presume." Stone asked the man as he approached them.

"Yes." The former strongman nodded. "I've been looking around for my brother ever since those humongonauts started showing up and smashed their way through town."

"Why's that, Mr. Minner?" Velma interjected.

"I was hoping I could talk some sense into Jack to not retaliate against Maxime after he destroyed the buildings insured by us and our head office." Max Minner replied. "However, I wasn't having much luck with the search or my efforts to talk him out of his plan."

"Well, brother, you know that Maxime is very bent on destroying our business, so I only did the logical thing." His brother said to him.

"Without coming to the police?" Stone raised an eyebrow.

"What good will that do?" Jax Minner asked. "The police will certainly not investigate reports of a giant humongonaut destroying buildings insured by me and my brother's company, especially with the mayor's initiative of declaring those spooks a 'tourist attraction' in the city."

"That figures." Fred remarked. "And to think my father expects people to support him based on that."

"Now don't you 'that figures' me, my dear Fred." The mayor snapped. "You do know that with tourist money, we can certainly attract investment in Crystal Cove, which will benefit the economy greatly."

The gang all rolled their eyes at the mayor's comment but didn't say another word.

"Anyways, it appears that Mr. Archambault was getting concerned about the Minner brother's booming business here in Crystal Cove." Velma said. "One look at Minner Insurance Company's annual report will tell you the whole story on how their company is expanding."

"And given that Archambault has left his partnership with the brothers on a bad note and started working for its chief competitor, seeing the brothers doing well in business gives him the thought of getting even with them by adopting the disguise and smashing the buildings insured by the brothers to damage their business." Daphne added.

"Well, then." Stone said before he turned to the two unmasked humongonauts and added, "Mr. Minner and Mr. Archambault, you both are under arrest for property damage."

"And Archambault would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling Minner brothers!" Archambault snapped.

"And I would've gotten away with it if you weren't in the way, Maxime!" Jax retorted as he turned to Archambault.

With the two former strongmen poised to start another fight, the deputies moved quick to break it up.

* * *

A short while later, the gang were gathered at the Mystery Machine.

"Well, there goes another mystery solved, gang." Fred said as they gathered at the Mystery Machine.

"Yeah, although with your dad gearing up for reelection, I'm sure we wouldn't hear the last of his tourist attraction and investment thing." Velma remarked.

"I know." Fred nodded. "This certainly gets very old and repetitive."

"I do hope that the voters are smart enough to get tired of his repetitive political message and vote for change." Daphne said.

"Anyways, I think we should head home now, gang." Fred said after checking his watch. "It's getting late and we've got school tomorrow."

"One more day before the weekend." Shaggy groaned. "And then it's Monday again."

"No need to remind us, Shaggy." Velma said as they got on the Mystery Machine.

* * *

Much of the drive back to their respective homes was done in silence with not much to talk about.

Shaggy and Scooby, in particular, have noticed that in recent days, Fred and the girls are feeling the strain of their parents demands setting in.

Velma was the first to be dropped off at her home, and she did pause to give Fred a hug before heading into her house.

Fred was next to arrive home, during which Shaggy moved to take over the driver's seat.

"See you guys tomorrow at school." Fred waved at them as Shaggy got onto the driver's seat.

"Yeah." Daphne nodded. "See you tomorrow, Freddie."

"Take care, man." Shaggy added.

"I will." Fred nodded before turning and made his way to the house.

Soon, it was just Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne in the Mystery Machine as they drove through the neighbourhood.

There was some awkward silence between the trio, and Scooby guessed that Daphne was thinking about what to do when she gets home and faces her parents.

Some time went by before they arrived at the entrance to the Blake Mansion, and Daphne turned to the guys.

"I guess this is where I get off, guys." Daphne said.

Shaggy and Scooby nodded as the former shifted the van into park, not saying a word.

Daphne unbuckled herself and opened the passenger side door before getting off.

Shaggy and Scooby looked on as Daphne turned and said, "See you guys tomorrow at school."

The boys both nodded again.

"Ree you, Raphne." Scooby said.

"Yeah." Shaggy said. "Like, see you tomorrow, Daph."

Daphne nodded before closing the passenger door and made her way up the stairs to the front door.

Shaggy and Scooby then turned towards the front, and the former was about to shift the Mystery Machine back to drive when they both heard Daphne stopping in her tracks, turning and making her way back to the van.

Turning back, they saw Daphne walking towards the front of the Mystery Machine.

She then opened the driver's door, and Shaggy turned towards her. There was some silence between the trio for several moments.

After what felt like hours have passed by, Daphne opened her arms and Shaggy unbuckled himself before taking a step out of the van.

Seeing what Shaggy and Daphne are about to do, Scooby simply reached over to the ignition switch and turned the keys to the off position, in time for Shaggy and Daphne to share a long embrace.

Anticipating what was to be seen next, Scooby smiled before turned to face towards the rear of the van, whistling as he did so.

Even though he wasn't looking at Shaggy and Daphne, Scooby can certainly imagine their lips getting closer by the second as they shared a long embrace.

His whistling certainly didn't drown out the sound of his best friends kissing each other, though the Great Dane certainly didn't mind what was happening.

As Shaggy and Daphne kissed outside the Mystery Machine, the scene shifted onto the nearby street.

A gust of wind picked up some leaves, and as the leaves flew in the air, they flew in a path that certainly looked like the shape of a heart.

From the view of where the leaves flew by, it certainly looked like the leaves have flew around Shaggy and Daphne with the flight path shaped like a heart.

The scene then shifted towards the moon and the palm trees swayed with the nighttime breeze.

* * *

 **The adventures of Mystery Inc. continues in _D3 SDMI: Howl of the Fright Hound!_**

 **Please read and review!**


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